Brand Protection
Brand Protection
Protect your brand assets effectively, from trademark registrations and designs to domain names and trade secrets. As IP and trademark specialists, we provide support in researching legal availability, registration, and monitoring of a brand, guiding creative teams every step of the way.
Research and strategy
Availability search (Benelux, EU, or International)
We always begin with an availability search to determine whether your brand name, design, or domain name is available in the desired regions and classes. Our legal experts provide strategic advice on the optimal registration approach, including the appropriate categories and classes for your brand.
Registration advice
With our tailored advice, we ensure that your trademark registration meets all legal requirements and parameters, granting your brand exclusive protection in your active markets.
Optimisation of trademark registration
From a single Brand to extensive portfolios
Following the research, we conduct targeted trademark registrations, taking into account the existing market, growth plans, or potential legal obstacles within your active regions and classes.
Legal brand audit
To ensure that your existing brand portfolio is optimally protected, we perform a Legal Brand Audit. This process identifies potential risks and opportunities to strengthen your brand protection.
Monitoring, conflict, and dispute resolution
Trademark monitoring (trademark watch)
After registration, your trademark remains under our care. We monitor potential infringements and notify you if a similar trademark application is filed. This allows us to respond quickly and protect your brand effectively.
International support and dispute resolution
When expanding into international markets, we provide support in conflict resolution and intellectual property disputes. Our expertise ensures your brand remains protected, no matter where you operate.
Other intellectual property rights
Copyrights and trade names
We provide guidance in protecting your copyrights, trade names, and company names. This prevents misuse and strengthens your legal position.
Domain names and i-Depot
We manage and monitor domain names to ensure your online brand identity remains secure. Through i-Depot, we register innovative ideas and concepts, safeguarding your intellectual property.
Strategic protection of IP rights
In addition to trademark protection, we support you in identifying and managing other IP rights, ensuring your business is fully legally protected.
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With more than three decades of experience in brand strategy, architecture, and evolution, we help companies build impactful brands.
Our strategic approach combines in-depth research, creative vision, and thorough implementation, ensuring your brand makes a lasting impact both internally and externally.
Frequently asked questions
Lets transform your challenges into opportunities.
How does brand protection differ from copyright?
Brand protection safeguards names, logos, slogans and symbols linked to specific products or services. Copyright, or authors’ rights, protects creative works such as texts, photos or designs. Both fall under intellectual property. We guide clients through both trademark and design protection, ensuring your identity is not only distinctive — but legally secure.
What’s the difference between a company name, trade name, brand name and domain name?
A company name is the official name registered with the Chamber of Commerce. A trade name is the name you use in day-to-day business and communications. A brand name is a registered trademark that gives you exclusive rights in specific jurisdictions. A domain name is your online address.
For more details on which applies best to your situation, see our blog post ‘Trade Name, Company Name or Brand?’.
How much does it cost to register a brand nationally or internationally?
The cost depends on several factors: the regions you wish to protect, the number of product or service classes, and the level of legal support and monitoring required. There’s no single global registration system, but protection can be extended internationally via the WIPO. The more regions and classes you choose, the higher the investment.
We advise on the most efficient approach and prepare tailored quotes — ensuring your brand portfolio is fully protected, while costs remain manageable.
How far can I go in registering elements such as slogans, colours or packaging?
You can protect far more than just a name. Logos, slogans, distinctive colour combinations and even packaging shapes can be registered — as long as they’re distinctive and not too generic. Legal research determines what’s possible in your market.
Read our blog post ‘Protected or Copyable?’ to learn which brand elements can be legally protected, where imitation risks arise, and how to build the strongest possible legal foundation for your brand.
How long does protection for a brand name or logo last?
Trademark registration is valid for ten years and can be renewed indefinitely. Protection remains active as long as the brand owner continues to use and maintain those rights. We help you manage renewals and keep your registrations up to date.
What conditions must a brand meet to be eligible for registration?
A brand must not cause confusion with existing trademarks, must be legally available in the target regions, and correctly classified according to the product or service categories where protection is sought.
As Flamingo prepared to expand into new markets, we carried out extensive brand and market checks to ensure the name and logo were legally clear — both in terms of existing trademarks and cultural or linguistic nuances. For AO76, we conducted availability searches and legal screening for names and logos in all target markets, ensuring their brand is distinctive and legally solid.
When is the best time to protect a brand name or logo?
As early as possible — ideally during name development. Once your name or logo is in use or starts generating revenue, the risk of conflict increases. Early protection provides security and helps avoid costly rebranding or legal disputes.
For Flamingo, we registered trademarks first in the Benelux, then expanded to other regions as the brand grew — securing global protection before competitors could claim similar names or designs. For Liantis, we registered the new name and visual identity before launch, ensuring legal security during the merger of three organisations.
What does the protection of a brand name or symbol include? And does it apply nationally, across Europe, or internationally?
Protection grants your brand exclusive rights within a chosen region — whether that’s Belgium, the EU or other countries — through registration. Without it, you have no legal certainty in case of conflicts. We help you choose the right regions and categories so your protection fits your growth plans.
For Bpost, we developed a comprehensive Brand Protection system covering both national and international trademarks and domain names, supported by global monitoring and legal guidance. For Laroy, we implemented protection both nationally and internationally, including trademark rights and monitoring, ensuring their symbol and name are secured across relevant markets.
How can I be sure our brand portfolio is legally in order?
We conduct market research and a Legal Brand Audit to check that all relevant names and logos are registered, protected in the right regions and not at risk of infringement or confusion.
For Ao76, we centralised brand registrations and introduced monitoring across multiple countries, giving the brand a strong and secure legal foundation. For Bpost, we centralised trademark registrations and developed a monitoring process to ensure all brands within the group are legally protected.
What exactly is brand registration and why does it matter?
Brand registration is the legal process of securing exclusive rights to your brand name, logo, packaging or slogan. It prevents others in your market from using or imitating your brand.
We supported Flamingo in building a brand registration and monitoring strategy — first in the Benelux, later internationally — ensuring their entire brand portfolio was protected against infringement. For Laroy, we supported the registration and protection of brand names across multiple markets, ensuring Laroy’s brand was solid both in the Benelux and beyond.
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